Chapter 14 - New Life in God of War

"Have you ever seen drawings of it? Well, it really is a beautiful creature, but they didn’t use to be this big. It must have been trapped here for a long time. Hafgufas are wonderful creatures; they give their lives to bring their offspring into the world. Since this one is so large, it must not have had contact with its kind since it became an adult," Freya said, admiring the creature—especially the part about sacrificing its life for its offspring. To Freya, that was the meaning parents should have for their children: sacrificing themselves so their children could grow up well and healthy.

Freya felt two arms wrapping around her stomach and pulling her into an embrace. She let herself be hugged and rested her head in the curve of Hyperion’s neck.

After staying like that for a few minutes, Hyperion kissed the top of Freya’s head and let go of her.
 "Let’s free it now," he said, looking seriously at the girls.

The girls nodded and started juggling between axes and magical arrows until the Hafgufa was completely freed.

"Well, its tentacles are released. Now, we just need to break the ceiling to free it from the underground," Faye said.

They climbed up and soon found a large pile of sand where they had left their giant pet wolf.

The corner of Hyperion’s mouth twitched at the sight, while the girls’ eyes sparkled with amusement, finding the scene hilarious.

"Silly girl, get out of there!" Hyperion said with a helpless expression.

"Woof!!" A giant wolf burst out from under the pile of sand, sending sand flying everywhere, looking goofy and wagging her tail.

At that moment, no one could hold back their laughter at her antics.

"Let’s find where the Hafgufa is," Hyperion said.

They mounted the giant wolf and calculated the location of the Hafgufa.

Upon arriving, they broke apart the structures holding the ceiling.

Finally freed, the enormous Hafgufa soared through the opening and began to fly, singing as it ascended.

The sandstorm quickly dissipated, revealing a beautiful sky in its place.

After admiring the sight for a moment, Faye looked around, crouched down, picked up a handful of sand that slipped through her fingers, and sighed with sadness on her face.

"The sandstorm is over. Unfortunately, it lasted too long, and almost all the plants have died. But more than anything, it’s the reckless use of light by the Light Elves that is killing this land," Faye said.

Seeing her sadness, Hyperion couldn’t resist and pulled her into an embrace, which Faye returned by leaning into him with her hands on his chest.

"How about this? I’ll use my divinity to establish 100 points across Alfheim where the monster population is highest. When we reach those points, we’ll defeat the monsters and plant these seeds, bringing life back to those areas. That will be our ‘main quest’ for now," Hyperion said as he opened his hand, conjuring a sack filled with seeds.

As for the divinity he spoke of—well, he had simply decided to refer to his endless array of powers as "divinity."

When Faye heard this, her eyes, which had been closed as she enjoyed Hyperion’s warmth, opened in surprise. Then, a radiant smile blossomed on her face, and she gazed lovingly into the eyes of her beloved.

Freya was slightly surprised by Hyperion’s abilities, but she was starting to get used to his supposed infinite powers. She was also happy to know that this place would regain its vitality.

"Well, the sooner we start, the better!" Faye said excitedly, hopping onto Nymeria’s back.

Hyperion and the girls laughed and also leaped onto Nymeria.

Hyperion then shouted a reference that no one recognized, but everyone understood its meaning.
 "Nymeria, to infinity and beyond!!"

…

..

.

Eight months passed as they traveled and revitalized Alfheim. They began to be worshiped by both the Dark Elves and the Light Elves as harbingers of life, even more revered than Freyr, Freya’s brother. The conflicts between the elves had started to subside as they witnessed the dead lands of Alfheim being restored.

The civil war in Alfheim began when a group of Dark Elves discovered the source of the light. They learned to harness its power and became immensely strong, but their consumption of light energy was causing Alfheim’s land to die. This led to the civil war—Dark Elves who wanted to preserve their land’s resources and future life versus Light Elves who used the power of light to grow stronger.

It was hard to say who was right or wrong, but Hyperion would say:
 "The Dark Elves are better!"

To which Freya would argue:
 "It’s not that simple. You’re still too young to understand—sometimes the world is very complicated!"

Then Faye would give her own opinion:
 "The Dark Elves are better!"

Freya would roll her eyes and say:
 "The opinion of a nature-loving giant doesn’t count in this discussion!"

And finally, Kratos would settle the debate:
 "Freya is right. The conflict between the elves is too complex for us to judge... Though the Dark Elves do seem better."

Freya rolled her eyes in amusement and said:
 "Great, everyone against me!"

And they all laughed.

That was an event that had happened eight months ago when they first started reforesting Alfheim.

Now, the four had just finished slaying the last monster in a barren region.

A pillar stood in the middle of the desert, engraved with the symbol of a leaf with a hole at the top.

Faye took a small cloth pouch from her waist and retrieved a seed from inside.

She walked to the pillar and placed the seed into the hole.

The sound of the seed rolling inside echoed, and soon the ground began to tremble.

Tiny sprouts emerged from the earth, thickening as they grew.

Soon, beautiful trees of various colors began to sprout from the barren land. This was the original flora of Alfheim—an incredibly stunning sight. Alfheim had been a desert for so long that no living elf had ever seen its original ecosystem.

And it was breathtaking.

Not only had the flora returned, but natural resources in the area had also been restored. Rivers now flowed where once there had been only dry wasteland, and even extinct animals had returned to life.